(Minghui.org) I have managed a large hotel and sold luxury cars even though I didn't graduate from college. Yet, compared to the many college graduates in China who cannot find work, my experience sounds almost like a miracle.
Others often comment that I am “a good person.” I know that I am a good person because of Master. I wouldn't have been as good as I am if it weren't for the guidance of Falun Gong's principles: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I am so fortunate–I have obtained the Fa of the universe.
Han Xin (died 196 BCE) was a military general who contributed greatly to the founding of the Han Dynasty. He was said to have been able to forbear what others could not.
According to legend, he came across a scoundrel in the market. The scoundrel challenged him to a fight. Han Xin refused to fight. The scoundrel then demanded that Han Xin choose one of two options: fight or crawl between his legs. Han Xin chose the latter.
I became a manager at age 19. I put on a suit and trained employees more than ten years my senior. I was more than a little intimidated. The general manager said that he wanted to develop me as a leader because I was a good person.
One veteran employee particularly disliked me. She opposed me on most matters. She challenged me in public and tried to get others to be hostile towards me. I didn't take it personally, and I still treated her kindly. I usually endured and looked within. I improved myself.
This veteran employee later became ill. I took to her special dishes that I ordered from the hotel restaurant. She was in bed and couldn't eat or drink. I went to my dormitory room and brought her a can of fruit that I had saved, and I fed her. She was very touched and apologized sincerely. After that, she became my best assistant.
I tell my team how to be good people and how a person's character is more important than any diploma. I shared with them some of the principles I had learned from Dafa.
The members of our team gradually stopped playing mind games. We cooperated better. They liked to share everything with me and brainstorm with me for solutions. They called me “older sister,” even though I was at least ten years younger than any of them.
Our team's performance was very good compared to other teams in the hotel. Because of this, I earned a good reputation. Senior management often sought my opinion on work-related issues. I thought this was because of the wisdom bestowed on me by the Fa and the power of kindness.
I was later switched to a sales position. A university professor visited our company with her daughter. The professor was discussing business with my supervisor and I was playing with the little girl when the phone rang. I picked up the receiver, but the little girl hung up the call.
We didn't have caller ID, and the call could have been a very important customer, so I smiled at the girl and said, “Don't do that next time. It's not polite.”
The professor, who was in another room, overheard me. She rushed in and started yelling at me. My manager tried to calm her down. I went home.
When I got home, I got a call from the office, asking me to go back immediately. The professor had complained to the general manager and tried to have me fired.
I couldn't help thinking that this was unfair, but then I immediately thought of Han Xin's story in Zhuan Falun. I told myself that I had to overcome this test well.
“When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it.” These words in Zhuan Falun came into my mind.
The professor was still complaining in the general manager's office when I returned. My department manager apologized to me, “I'm sorry you had to come back during your rest time.” He also made some negative comments about the professor.
I wasn't affected by the department manager's words. The general manager called me into her office and told me that this customer wanted me to apologize. I felt calm and said, “Yes, I apologize.”
“No, that won't do,” the professor said. She positioned two chairs. She sat in one and asked her toddler to sit in the other. She ordered me to stand straight in front of them, bow to them, and apologize to each of them. After bowing, she said I had to specifically ask for the little girl's forgiveness. If the girl, who was about three or four years old, wouldn't forgive me, the situation was going to drag on.
More than ten people were present, including the general manager, the department manager, and some of my other colleagues. I was a little disturbed, but I told myself to handle it openly and with dignity.
I stood up straight, bowed, and apologized to them as the professor had required. The girl didn't exactly understand what was going on. She just said, “I still want to play with Auntie (me).”
This tricky conflict was resolved.
The general manager pulled the security camera footage the next day to confirm what had happened. She told me, “I admire you a lot. You are not like an ordinary person. You were able to endure this calmly. It was truly remarkable. Another person would probably have gotten into a fight with the professor, even if it meant she would have to resign.”
I thought of how a practitioner's spirit of forbearance can touch people's hearts. I shared Zhuan Falun with the general manager. Maybe her time hasn't come yet; she hasn't started practicing Falun Gong.
I mainly deal with government agencies and state-owned enterprises in my current job. Seeing all the corruption, my boss didn't trust anyone. She double checked the inventory before she left on vacations, fearing that the employees would steal the goods or the payments.
I maintained all the accounts after I joined the company. I even paid for items if I noticed some were missing. I would rather bear a loss than take advantage of others. Others said I was “so smart that she looks a like a fool.”
I gradually won the boss's trust. She said, “Throughout my life, I couldn't trust anyone, except for a few family members. But I trust you.” She said she preferred to hire Falun Gong practitioners.
My mother, who is also a practitioner, was illegally detained a few years ago. We successfully rescued her. But the police kept my files separately. Another practitioner was detained later. His family member lived with me at the time, so I went with her to seek his release.
The police threatened to release my files to humiliate me in public. They also came to my workplace demanded that my boss fire me.
My boss' father had been diagnosed with cancer at the time. I told him to recite “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” This helped aid his recovery. My boss had a relative who was a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official. This relative argued with my boss, demanded that she fire me, and said that he would see to my arrest.
At the time my husband was trying to divorce me and had already moved out of our home. If I didn't have a job, I wouldn't be able to make ends meet. I really experienced how it felt to have “a hundred hardships falling all at once.” (“Tempering One’s Heart and Will” from Hong Yin)
All the conflicts and troubles happened at the same time. The difficulty and stress were beyond imagination.
The only thing I could do was study the Fa more. My boss was also under a lot of pressure.
She said to me, “Your excellence is obvious. I have been under a lot of pressure recently to fire you. I have thought about it for several days. I have decided that I decide who works for me, nobody else. My relative asked me to fire you. Can he find me another staff member like you? Is he so capable? I don't want anyone else. I just want you to work here.”
I almost wept. I thanked Master in my heart. I also felt happy that my boss had made the right choice. She had withstood pressure from a variety of sources and chose a good future for herself.
My boss's son came to work for the company and attempted to drive me out. I decided to resign. I thought perhaps it was time for me to leave the company, so I left, even though my boss wanted me to stay. She hired two replacements to fill my position, but wasn't happy with their work.
After the Chinese New Year, she called and asked me to come back to work at her company. She offered me double the vacation time and a high salary. She said I could come to work late and leave early and that it would be okay for me to leave my job during the day if I had emergencies to take care of. She also said I could keep my current job, so I could earn two salaries at the same time.
She continued, “There are few people I can trust. I trust you the most. If you don't come back, I will leave the position vacant until you do.”
She started calling me every day. We talked for half an hour to an hour each time. I discussed the issue with fellow practitioners. We all thought that this wasn't coincidental, so I returned to the company.
My boss's son later apologized. He said, “I know that you left the company because of me. Your leaving made my mom angry at me for a long time. Every time she saw me, she would lose her temper. I couldn't bear to apologize to you.”
“But today I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry. I hope you can work here long term. If you have any troubles at home or work, just talk to me. I will help. My mom doesn't let me visit the company anymore. She worries that I would cause trouble.”
“I don't dislike you. I was just under a lot of pressure back then [when I asked you to leave the company]. I know you are a very good person. You just work here and we will all treat you well.”
I told him, “You weren't the reason I left the company. It was because I didn't cultivate so well that my capacity to forbear wasn't great enough. Don't worry. I do a good job wherever I go because my master asks us to be good people. Your company pays me, how can I not do my best? If I perform poorly, I would not be a good person.”
“Oh, Falun Gong sounds quite nice, ” he said.
He had served in the military, so he had been influenced by the CCP propaganda. I had clarified the truth to him before, but he refused to listen. This time, he opened his heart.
My boss still worries that I may leave the company again. She said to me a few days ago: “Work here and your efforts will not be in vain. You will end up with something nice. You know what I mean.”
She was referring to her department store. She has said more than once that she wanted a nice person to take over the store. Her son has his own factory and doesn't want to run the store, so she hopes that I can work there and learn. She hinted to me more than once that she would make me an executive.
I knew she spoke from her heart, but I was not swayed. My path is arranged by Master. The needs of the Fa-rectification are the most important factor for my future path. But I was glad to hear what she said. It showed how she had positioned Falun Gong in her heart.
Someone from the local police station came to our company once. He pointed at me and said, “I know you.” We had just rescued my mother at the time. My boss approached him and hinted at me to leave; she was trying to protect me.
She sometimes helps with my truth-clarification efforts, too. She tells other people, “Dafa is allowed in all other countries around the world. China is developing, too. Smart people don't arrest good people. Isn't it nice that we are all becoming good people?”
A fellow practitioner suggested that I share my experiences at work. I thought about her suggestion and agreed. If not for Master's teachings and guidance, how could I be unaffected by all the corruption and “unspoken rules” in today's China?
I decided to write my story to validate how Dafa teaches people to be kind. Only Falun Dafa cultivators are able to act against the moral downslide of today's society. We act as lotus flowers that grow out of the mud, unaffected by the filth.